I think that fonts are different for different machines. Thus a button of a
certain size might contain text on one machine, but not be big enough on
another computer to contain the same text. A complex subject which brings
great wealth to companies like Adobe. Perhaps big font houses can guarantee
uniformity of their fonts across platforms. I only know of problems, not
many solutions.
--If that is the case then I definitely recommend developing 3 stylistically
different interfaces rather than 1. I hope that it is not... I.e. 1 interface
in terms of scripting but with different styles to account for the different
platforms
I'm going to have to continue my UI paper after hearing this. Drat. Was
hoping to avoid it...
--PLEASE tell me what you want then - you would be far more likely to get it
because I cannot read minds.
I'll look at what I have under linux/ppc. However, I thinkthe best
approach is to be able to use a descriptor for fonts, not the actual
font name, for cross-platform work. Example:
serif
sansserif
monospaced
proportional
handwritten
cursive
default (default for the intended use, see below)
Next we can tack on intended use:
print
screen
television (e.g., for presentations)
--Very Clever. Still does not get around the fact that the buttons will either
have to be over sized to contain the text (not a serious problem but not
aesthetically pleasing) or ... variable geometry... I think doing a variable
geometry on the buttons would slow down the interface though I could be
wrong.
--In principal, I agree that a solution would be to test for the platform and
then set the button fonts appropriately.
--I shall experiment with your idea which I do like
Then, let's not do our sizes in some silly unit. We'll do them in
PostScript points (like the Mac) and do any necissary conversions. Or
maybe we should store them in something even more universal:
milimeters. We also have size names, which can be either "relative" or
"absolute". Relative means that it is based on the intended use (e.g.,
all the tv ones would be much bigger; print ones smaller) or absolute
(it's 14pt everywhere). These could be:
--Scott pretty clearly wants 14 point. I favor 12. It is worth noting
--however that 12 point chicago is really big (compare it to times 12 to
--see...) So, the font size is 14 point (unless someone else wants to try
--to convince him that 12 point is not too tiny to read).
--Finally one potential difficulty: Some one who has access to Unix, Windows
and Mac has to verify that the thing actually looks good when finished. A
beatiful looking script with just one little syntax error and... well, it may
work but it's not pretty.
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